I Agreed To Have My Health Evaluated Based Solely On My Picture, And Here's How It Went

As a journalist, you're taught to be a skeptic. And while I've always been a science-based truth-seeker, I have to admit there's more than a little bit of an X-Files fan in me—I can't help but think that there are some things in the universe that just can't be explained.

Yet even my eyebrows went up with more than a hint of skepticism when I received an email offering me a full health evaluation based solely on my photograph.

Carolyn Harrington, an energy healer based in upstate New York, says she uses a specific type of energy healing—applied kinesiology (AK)—to determine a few different things: if there are any spots of weakness in the body, any issues that may cause disease, and whether there are any nutritional or emotional red flags. (If you're new to energy healing, this 101 can bring you up to speed.)

I sent Harrington my best photo—can't hurt to look good for your energy reading, right?—but as it turned out, it could have been any old picture, or even a piece of paper I'd scribbled a note on; she wasn't making her assessment on the photo itself, she says, but using it to tap into my energy field. In fact, Harrington, who makes an organic, all natural line of health remedies, claims she's become so proficient at her energy healing technique that she no longer needs to be in a person's psychical presence. (Rev your metabolism and refresh your skin with Prevention's new Younger In 8 Weeks plan!)

How is this possible?

My Energy Healing Assessment
Harrington's email began with a disclosure: This assessment wasn't medical advice, but rather, insight into what the energy in my body indicated. To do her assessment, Harrington runs her fingers down a list of 29 different body parts and systems—metabolism, blood cells, teeth, mouth, stomach, etc.—trying to "feel" if one element shows a weakness on a scale of 1 to 10.

"Your thyroid is testing weak right now. It looks like it is from some solvent you are being exposed to, or maybe sometime in the past."

My eyes perked up a bit at "thyroid." While none of my doctors had ever brought up my thyroid, I'd recently read a study connecting thyroid issues and migraines—I've suffered from chronic migraines for a decade.

"You also seem to be affected by someone who is exhausted. This person may just keep going, ignoring their tiredness, driven by a strong sense of duty. Does this sound like anyone you know? It is affecting your thyroid."

Well, I thought, that could be my mother…but it could be a lot of mothers out there.

She proceeded to tell me that green beans could affect my thyroid right now, and that there is an overgrowth of bacteria in my stomach, so I should avoid tofu as well. She told me that my stomach might be affected by the fact that I have a hard time trusting my own judgment and seek advice and confirmation from other people.

She concluded that additional B6 vitamins would be helpful, and also recommended I repeat this positive mantra daily: "I am wanted, I am special, I am important, I am loved."

Harrington sent me a "solution" to help remedy these issues: a small container of water that—brace yourself, skeptics—she says she'd tailored from hundreds of vials of varying frequencies, using her whole-body checklist to guide her selection. I was instructed to take half a dropper of the water every day, and tap certain acupressure points (she sent a diagram) five times each, three times a day.

The Verdict
I recited my mantra, took the solution, and tapped my forehead, armpit, collarbone, temple, chin, and other places for three weeks. Harrington checked in, and said my thyroid was healing nicely. Was it? I'm not sure.

But, during those three weeks, I did feel a bit lighter, a bit more balanced. Perhaps there really was good energy pumping through me thanks to the frequencies in those vials. Or perhaps it was the tapping and the reciting of my mantra. But as Harrington said, "With this method of energy healing, you can only help someone heal, you can't hurt them." Good thing.

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